G-R's Skovgard walking on with ISU football

Submitted by admin on Fri, 02/02/2018 - 5:55pm

In this Oct. 13, 2017 file photo, Gladbrook-Reinbeck's Mason Skovgard (72) has his eyes on bringing down Belle Plaine's Ethan Gates. Skovgard is joining Iowa State's football team as a preferred walk-on.

The Gladbrook-Reinbeck senior had to earn his place on a Rebels team that made its first of three consecutive trips to the UNI-Dome when Skovgard was a freshman.

As the years went by, Skovgard bounced around the field from position to position as he grew, both physically and intellectually, into a talented asset for the Rebels on the line of scrimmage.

"I learned that you're not going to get handed everything in life," Skovgard said. "But there would be people around you there to make you better and you want to take that advantage."

Skovgard's next step is to continue pushing himself, to test his mettle with the Iowa State University football program, heading to the Cyclones as a preferred walk-on next fall.

Numerous schools across the spectrum of college football reached out to Skovgard, including Minnesota State, Upper Iowa, schools in the Dakotas and other Division III schools, but G-R coach John Olson said it was the Cyclones that contacted Skovgard first.

"He feels confident with those coaches," Olson said. "They're honest with him, straightforward, and it's a really good fit."